A/71/206 autonomous and independent monitoring mechanisms. The conference also provided an opportunity to review comparable experiences and trends in Europe. 10 96. The regional conference highlighted the international normative framework adopted in this area and the significant developments promoted in the region. A. A sound normative framework to guide action 97. The right to liberty and security is a fundamental human right recognized by international legal standards. This is a topic that the Convention on the Rights of the Child also addresses, including in article 37. 11 98. In stark contrast with these standards, however, thousa nds of children are detained for long or indefinite periods of time, lacking genuine opportunities to gain access to justice and to challenge the legality of their detention and being neglected in their needs for care, treatment and protection. While depri ved of liberty, they may be exposed to violence by other detainees and by staff, including bullying, psychological violence and sexual abuse, as well as corporal punishment, flogging and other forms of inhuman sentencing, alongside the risk of self -harm. 12 99. According to the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (resolution 45/113, annex, para. 11 (b)) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (article 4 (2)), deprivation of liberty is “any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority”. Such settings may include police custody, remand detention, imprisonment after conviction, administrative detention, involuntary hospitalization, and institutional custody of children, including children with disabilities and those in need of protection. 13 100. Children on the move, including refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and victims of trafficking or smuggling may be placed in detention centres or cells in military bases or confined in restricted areas in airports, harbour facilities and islands. They may also be subject to involuntary transportation in vehicles, aeroplanes, boats or other vessels. 14 Girls may be deprived of liberty supposedly for their own protection, including when they are at risk of honour crimes, trafficking or other forms of violence and, while detained, exposed to the risk of further abuse and exploitation. 15 101. Violence in detention facilities is rarely reported or investigated and often remains unpunished and hidden from external scrutiny. The failure to hold __________________ 10 11 12 13 14 15 16-12906 See www.defenceforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DCI-Practical-GuideEN.pdf. See in particular article 37 (b): “No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time ”. See A/HRC/21/25. CCPR/C/GC/35, para. 5. Association for the Prevention of Torture and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Monitoring Immigration Detention: Practical Manual (Geneva, 2014), p. 29. See A/HRC/27/48. 19/23